(Bloomberg) — The biggest buyout on record was negotiated by two of Wall Street’s traditional M&A powerhouses.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is advising Electronic Arts on its $55 billion sale to a consortium led by Silver Lake Management, which is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co., according to a statement Monday. JPMorgan will also provide $20 billion of debt financing.
The transaction will shore up Goldman’s position as the No. 1 merger-and-acquisition adviser, a position it’s held for the past eight years, while bringing No. 3 JPMorgan a step closer to runner-up Morgan Stanley.
It’s not totally surprising that the two firms, as well as Silver Lake partners Public Investment Fund and Affinity Partners, are relying on bulge-bracket firms for this type of transaction. Few banks have the wherewithal to finance a buyout of this scale. JPMorgan is also familiar with Electronic Arts, having handled its purchase of Glu Mobile in 2021. The sheer magnitude of the transaction means it would be virtually impossible for a boutique like Centerview Partners or Evercore Inc. to finance.
The JPMorgan brand could also be useful as Saudia Arabia’s PIF and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners seek regulatory blessing for the deal, potentially in multiple jurisdictions. For Electronic Arts, relying on the top M&A adviser shores up its case with investors that it secured a fair deal at the best possible valuation.
The transaction also continues the trend of companies relying on big firms rather than boutiques to handle megadeals: There were no boutiques on Union Pacific Corp.’s agreement to acquire railroad operator Norfolk Southern Corp. for more than $80 billion, including debt.
Global M&A values topped $1 trillion in the third quarter for only the second time ever, setting the end of 2025 up for a potential blitz of dealmaking.
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